Royal Mews

The Royal Mews is the mews (stables and in recent times also the garage) of the British Royal Family in London. They have occupied two main sites, firstly at Charing Cross, and since the 1820s at Buckingham Palace.

Charing Cross

The first set of stables to be referred to as a mews was at Charing Cross at the western end of The Strand. The royal hawks were kept at this site from 1377 and the name derives from the fact the they were confined there at moulting (or ?mew?) time. The building was destroyed by fire in 1534 and rebuilt as a stables. It kept its old name when it acquired this new function. This building was usually known as the King's Mews, but was also sometimes referred to as the Royal Mews, the Royal Stables, or as the Queen's Mews when there was a woman on the throne. It was rebuilt again in 1732, and in the early 19th century it was open to the public. It was an impressive classical building, and there was an open space in front it which ranked among the larger ones in central London at a time when the Royal Parks were on the fringes of the city and the gardens of London's squares were open only to the residents of the surrounding houses.

Related Topics:
Charing Cross - The Strand - Moult - Royal Parks - London's squares

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